Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-05-07


name of Miller was an alias. The man S
own name was W. 5. Woodward, and he
was born and reared and married in
county in West Virginia. He was about
35 years old when he went ID
California, and the reason he changed his
name was never fully known, for their
seems TO have been no cloud upon
him. He left his wife and children behind
in good hands and set forth to seek his for
tune. He correspondent with them regu-
ularly. Sent them abundant means, hut
always reirained from giving them any
other address than lock box In the san
Francisco postollice. His wife's letters
were received, placed in the box, and dur
ing nearly the whole of his residence IN
Sacramento he would make frequent trips
TO the Bay to get them. Matters went
Oh III this way for several years. Mean
time Miller, or Woodward made several
visits home and was well received. On
one of them he bought handsome farm,
upon which he placed his family, and his
wiGe's brother managed the place. he
stocked il with choice breeds OF cattle AMI
horses. and made it the model establish
ment OF that part of the country. When at
home he always said he was engaged IN
mining enterprises which took him con-
stantly to the mountains, and that, there
fore, he could not have his family with
him. Finally, however, when this exist
ence had gone on for five or six years, the
wife became FESTIVE and insisted
upon coming to California, if only for i
visit. She had begun to suspect, rs she
said afterwards, that her husband was
keeping a gambling house, and she wanted
to influence him to give up such bust
ness. This Miller had to prevent at all
hazards. So he wrote that he would sail
in few weeks for Australia, where he had
bought large sheep range in connection
with an English capitalist. But first he
would pay her n visit, which he did, stay
ing several weeks. When he came back
to Sacramento, he at once hired young
Englishman, who was stranded in the
country, to 90 to Australia and he the
medium of two years correspondence
between himself and his family, and,
strange to say, it was conducted without
break. The agent caused glowing letter,
TO be mailed rs soon rs he reached Sydney,
and there he was to await the reply, send
that to Miller at Sacramento, get his reply
at Sydney again, and so, in that way, Mil
Ter exchanged three or four letters q
year for two years, and then Miller
began to talk of coming home, for
in truth he was interested in his children
now growing up, and wanted to see them.
One day he turned up at the West Virginia
home and said he had made 4 vast deal of
money in Australia. He made additions
to the farm, built new house and sent
his family ON run to Europe. This he
did because his wife began to talk OF going
with him to Australia Having done this
he went buck TO Sacramento and was safe
for another year or so But the deception
could not be kept mp always. Towards
the last and especially about the time OF
his bigamOuS marriage, he must have been
greatly harraSsed by fears of detection, but
he was man of IRON nerve and he never
showed it, Two years before the eNplO-
sion came, Mrs. Woodward wrote peremp-
tOrily that she was coming to California,
and Miller had to meet the issue. After
much correspondence, in which he said
that in year or two he was going to dis
pose of his interests in California and
Australia, and return permanently to West
Virginia, he consented to a brief visit
Miller had now reached desperate point
in his career and had to exercise all his
ingenuity in keeping up the deception. He
met his wife at Ogden and escorted her to
San Francisco. Not daring TO take her to
a hotel he hired furnished house for a
month, put 4 Chinese servant or two into
it, and there installed her with her maid.
lie said it was so much plcaSanter to live
that way. He quieted wife No. by tax
ing numerous trips to the country. Wife
No. was permitted to stay many days,
however, in San Francisco. He took her
to the EOtemitc and on this, as on all
their trips, he explained wherever 1t
seemed necessary that the lady was his
sister. The hotels were the hardest to
avoid. Wherever he could he hired cot
tagCs and he took sCrupulOus case to in
troduCc his wife to no one. Being
taciturn man this was easy enough, hut tn
kaep his friends from coming up and adj
dressing him as Miller was the hard
est tasl: of all. The narroweSt escape OF
all that he had was on one occasion, when
he was taking wife No. | on a visit To Lake
Tahoe, wife No. , drove 10 the icFrybOat
to take the same train for Sacramento.
There seemed no mistake, hut Miller's
QuicknCSS and nerve were equal to any
thing. Fortunately, wife No was very
ear-sighted, and Miller was lucky enough
to get his eve on her first, and 50 to avoid
her by huStling wife No. | through the
gcntlcmaus cabin and into the engine
room To show her the big machinery.
When sure that wife No. had left the boat
and reached her car, wife No. | was thrust
into auOtherCaraud there for eight miles the
two women rode in adjoining ears, and Mil
Ter had the nerve To pass from car to car and
chat awhile with each, cXcuSing his ab.
Scnce from each by saying that he was
talking business with gentlemen in the
smoking car. His only salvation on that
occasion was that there were no gentle
men on tue ear that had a speaking ac-
quaintance with him. Aud so, said the
lawyer, Fifteen years of that mans life
were passed,
"What became of Miller Gnally?' was
asked.
Strange to say the second wife did not
want to give him mp, hut finally her
friends persuaded her to have her mar
rage amuulled. Miller or Woodward join
ed his family again, was finally forgiven,
and believe they are now living in seclu
sion in Switzerland. Quite a story, isn't